Uttarakhand Police Traffic department advises to use “Convex Mirrors”, to avoid fatal accidents on turns, especially blind turns
Just two days before on Mussoorie Dehradun road a fatal accident occured in which five young people who were travelling in a vehicle , boys and girls died on the spot and one grievously injured. There were two women and three boys among the dead.
In Uttarakhand accidents have become order of the day. As a journalist and primarily a resident of Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand, often visiting my home town and also being in touch with the regular happenings there, I have been personally witnessing fatal accidents at least twice or thrice a week with lot of casualties.
Most of the accidents are due to speeding vehicles, pot holes on roads, non metalled roads and especially, during raining season roads being slippery and becoming squeezed as well, due to falling of heavy boulders on the roads etc apart from drivers overloading their vehicles, driving overtime and sometimes taking a nap while driving, sometimes under inebriation or talking to passengers while driving. There are also accidents at turns many of them being blind turns with no indication about the vehicle coming from the opposite directions etc while in speed in the absence of any provision of equipment like ( convex mirrors) which may acquaint the driver about such traffic movements from other sides.
In Uttarakhand in the past, there have been accidents of overloaded or normal buses , MAX taxis, vehicles, personal cars , two wheelers etc falling in deep gorge leading to deadly accidents with lot of casualties, even of school going chikdren.
This is a continuing trend with no relief till date and newspapers and television news channels full of such anguishing tragic news with ruling party ministers and leaders including those of the opposition parties getting themselves free of their responsibilities by just issuing a statement of condolence on social media or visiting the traumatic families at times.
But this is not enough, the PWD department or BRO responsible for ensuring better smooth and mettaled roads, traffic department responsible for putting adequate signages etc on roads and blind turns, doing challans of the notorious n erring drivers etc , ensuring that the vehicles are not overloaded, checking on the way if the drivers are drunk or not, testing them with alcohol meters , the police department etc should come forward to ensure proper checking of traffic etc. During Yatra season and during summers the ruch of vehicular traffic enhances manifold and jams are the common feature, leading to several accidents as well. However , though late, the Uttarakhand Traffic police department deserves to be congratulated for coming out with convex mirrors too be fixed on turns, especially on blind turns ensuring the drivers getting idea of the vehicles coming from the opposite directions to avoid fatal accidents. According to a post loaded on social media platform by Uttarakhand Traffic Police :
At blind turns, one cannot identify the vehicle coming from the front. In such a situation, convex mirrors prove to be very useful in traffic safety at blind turns. Keeping this in mind, the districts are advised to install convex mirrors to keep the Chardham Yatra safe. Instructions have been given for this, in order to which the District Uttarkashi Police has installed convex mirrors on the accident prone blind turns from the District Headquarters to Gangotri on the Gangotri National Highway.
With this, drivers will be able to get information about vehicles coming from the other direction.
